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Furniture removal

From eco office stationery to washroom solutions, companies now have the opportunity to turn every aspect of their business green. One area that is often overlooked is the disposal of unwanted office furniture. Many businesses fail to realise that their furniture can be disposed of responsibly, as there are very few companies that offer a comprehensive and transparent service that ensures furniture is genuinely diverted from landfill and dealt with sensitively from start to finish. There are a number of routes that redundant items may follow so it is important for companies to understand what happens to their furniture once the removals van drives away.

A desk reincarnated

Colin Crooks, CEO and founder of Green-Works

(www.green-works.co.uk), explains the different routes unwanted office furniture can take when disposed of in an environmentally sensitive way.

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The sorting process

The main route for redundant furniture is still to landfill. However, there are a number of furniture recycling services that aim to stop this happening. The services vary considerably but each will look to sort and group items before they can proceed to the next stage. At Green-Works, this initial ‘triage’ stage is carried out at a warehouse and determines where the furniture will end up. A contractor that takes furniture to a warehouse has more time to grade it and put items to good use. It also reduces the time spent on site and reduces the noise and disturbance to a client’s office. In Green-Works’ case, the warehouse provides an opportunity to employ people from marginalised or disadvantaged backgrounds, helping to make a difference to local communities. In some cases, sorting furniture on-site is practical but in all cases an effective distribution network is necessary to ensure that furniture finds a suitable home.

Redistributed in the UK

It is important to choose your recycling contractor carefully if your company’s unwanted items are to gain a useful second life. Green-Works actively looks to redistribute furniture and equipment to businesses in the third sector, such as charities, schools and not-for-profit organisations. These types of organisation cannot afford new furniture and in many cases even second hand furniture is out of reach, so selective procurement can give your redundant items a much wider impact. By selling directly from the warehouse, Green-Works is in total control of the process and can offer a complete record of all organisations that have benefited from the low-cost furniture it provides.

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